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Google aims to change underrepresentation of women in ‘Doodles’

Google Doodles have featured some very interesting subjects, including a recent John Steinbeck-themed doodle. But if the doodles aren’t honoring a holiday or some historic event, odds are they’re honoring a man¬—something Google intends to change.

From 2010-2013, Google honored 445 people, nearly 83 percent of whom were men. That statistic comes from the activist movement SPARK, which advocates for girls and young women.

According to The Huffington Post, Google is aware of the problem. Google Doodle team lead Ryan Germick offered this statement to HuffPo:

Women have been underrepresented in history in almost all fields: science, school curricula, business, politics -- and, sadly, doodles -- despite incredible contributions both directly and behind the scenes. We’ve been working to fix the imbalance in our doodles.

This year we're hoping to have women and men equally represented. So far this year we’ve done doodles for as many women as men, a big shift from figures below 20 percent in past years.

SPARK is hoping to raise awareness beyond the Doodle campaign. In a blog post, the organization urges Google to “Doodle us!”

We’re asking Google to make improvements, but this project is bigger than Google Doodles. It’s is about becoming visible in a society that erases our history and our existence; it’s about acknowledging and celebrating our part in building this world. So we’re asking Google to Doodle Us. Not the SPARK team specifically, but people like us: women, people of color, people with disabilities, queer people, trans people. We’re asking Google to draw our histories, our achievements, our strength, our heroes, our fighters and foremothers. You can’t keep ignoring us. We’re here, and we’ve always been here.